So, Americans, what's your state bird? Wouldn't it be nice if someone had assembled a bookmark collection of links to your state's largest cities, as well as numbers on its rank in US population, what presidents came from there and where it got its name? Someone did--this is it. If you're helping your kids with social studies homework or are just curious, don't miss this one.
Stop! Before you send your child, your money (or yourself) to school, do a little research on the Net. Most colleges have an extensive Web presence these days, often quite text-intensive, except for the usual huge graphic of the school seal, which is fairly easily avoided. Their URLs (in alphabetical order, by school name) are assembled here by Mike Conlon of the University of Florida. Sure beats the old "write away and wait a long, long time for the big print catalog" method of college research.
Born to Explore: The Other Side of Attention Deficit DisorderInspiring and helpful site questions the doctrine of ADD as a "brain defect" and suggests ways for parents to manage and even enjoy it as an expression of adventurousness, creativity and divergent thinking. What a different world it would be if other differences in people were reinterrupted in such a kind and positive way.
Civil War
The Civil War is a very popular text-centric Net subject.
If you know--or if you are--someone struggling with depression, this excellent page helps you find support (on-line or in real life) and understand medical jargon and treatment options.
Landmark in New York harbor where 12 million of the ancestors of today's American first came ashore. Now a museum, it's very near the Statue of Liberty and Castle Clinton, which pre-dated Ellis Island as the New York immigration facility, welcoming 8 million people between 1855 and 1890.
This site contains "resources for people who are blind and visually impaired to manage their own careers." You join (free and relatively painless, though it requires filling out a form) and then get access to interesting articles in text or audio, free seminars, and chat about job issues. eSight knowledgeably fills a real gap in career counseling.
Genealogy
Genealogy is one of the Web's best applications--and it's text-intensive all the way. These must be the only text documents that actually take as long as some graphics to load...because they're stuffed with so much INFORMATION!
Holidays--New Year's Resolutions
Holidays--Mother's Day
Holidays--Christmas
Wouldn't it be great if mail-order catalogs came on cassette? Now, they can! Homereaders records (on cassettes playable on Library of Congress machines) catalogs from a mail order who's who including like Avon, Lands' End, Domestications, Wireless, FAO Schwartz, Figis, Coldwater Creek, and the Sharper Image, among others. Also available are cookbooks on cassette, including recipes from Betty Crocker, Nestle, and Kraft. Cassettes are very reasonably priced and just in time to help with Christmas shopping.
Hurricane, Typhoon, and Tropical Cyclone FAQ
It's hurricane season again, which is of unfortunately particular interest to us in South Florida. How hurricanes are named, what they've done (and might do) in the future, and how to prepare are all covered in this text-only article by meteorologist Christopher Landsea, a full-time hurricane researcher.
Music Therapy: The Power of Music.
Examines the power of using popular music, something people already listen to, in therapy. Includes examples of therapeutic messages in popular music as well as original music by Freudian Slip, therapeutic rock band.
Pet Links
If your best friends have fur...you have good taste in friends. Newsgroups on cats and dogs have resulted in accessible, well-organized collections of pet info, medical advice and fun:
A collection of articles and resources...all geared to printers.
Lots of job links, and also plenty of support links for seniors, caregivers, and professionals. Especially good for quick access to the multitude of government sites addressing older or disabled people in the US, the UK, and Australia.
Concerned about a senior in your life? Need elastic shoe laces that stay tied or pill organizers that mean business? Visit this comprehensive site to shop for hard-to-find items that could make life a lot easier. Or pamper yourself with an overbed tray, ideal for Braille reading on lazy days.
The Web shopper can only wonder why no one thought of this before--a place to buy gifts many grandparents will actually use and like.
Social Security Office of Disability
Much useful information is here on this straight-forward link-packed text page, such as Social Security: What You Need to Know When You Get Disability Benefits and Social Security: If You Are Blind How We Can Help, in addition to the entire Social Security Handbook and links to other Social Security sites. Many publications on this site come in a variety of formats--fortunately, the ever-popular ".txt" and ".zip" are among them--but be aware that the highly graphical ".pdf" format is often first among the selections.
Social Security Administration Work Site
Changes in Social Security laws mean changes for many beneficiaries--find out the latest.
The ship sunk long, long ago, but new stuff just keeps happening anyway.
This huge site claims to be THE primary web site dedicated to all manner of minutiae about the doomed liner including many discussion groups about the passengers and crew. Not to be missed--the 1912 audio files of "Songe d'Automne" and "Nearer My God to Thee", two candidates for the long-debated "last song" played by the ship's doomed orchestra.
Definitely don't try these tricks at home, boys and girls. Unless, of course, you really DO need to fend off a shark or escape from quicksand...then, this web site and its accompanying best-selling book are true lifesavers, in every sense of the word.
